1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a heat pipe.
2) Discussion of Related Art
Heat pipes are used in electronics and other industries for transferring heat from one location to another. An advantage of using heat pipes is that they can usually transfer more heat efficiently than what can be conducted through a solid metal component having the same cross-sectional area.
A heat pipe typically has an outer structural wall having condenser, intermediate, and evaporator sections sequentially after one another, and a wicking structure within the outer structural wall. A recirculation path is defined wherein a vapor in the condenser section condenses onto the wicking structure when heat is transferred therefrom out of the condenser section, subsequently flows under capillary action and as a liquid through small spaces in the wicking structure to the evaporator section, and then evaporates from the evaporator section when heat is transferred through the evaporator section thereto, whereafter the resulting vapor returns through a center of the heat pipe back to the condenser section.
The wicking structure is often in the form of elongate wicking wires that are attached to an inner surface of the outer structural wall. The elongate wicking wires move relative to one another when the heat pipe is bent, which modifies the sizes of the small spaces between the elongate wicking wires. Capillary forces that move the liquid through the small spaces are destroyed when the sizes of the small spaces increase, resulting in a reduction in flow through the intermediate section and a reduction in heat that is transferred.